A Biblical Model of Evangelism
Evangelism Training • Sermon • Submitted
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· 11 viewsA brief evangelistic method taken from Jesus' calling of the first disciples.
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29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
Point People (35)
Point People (35)
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
And again in verse 35 and 36.
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
Friends, we often point people to good things, but not to Christ.
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.
Let’s be a little interactive here: What are some “good things” that we point people to that aren’t Christ?
Our local church
Our Sunday School or Bible study class
Our pastor
Maybe a para-church ministry like the food bank, a clothing ministry, or a program for seniors or preschoolers
Our
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44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
and
Romans 10:14-
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Friends, we POINT PEOPLE to Jesus using our mouths AND actions.
Notice what John the Baptist did in these verses:
He boldly proclaimed Christ verbally-v.29 and again in v. 36
He acted upon it-
the people knew that John came baptizing, but John told them that Jesus would baptize with the Spirit; in essence he was telling them that they’d be forever changed by the power of the Gospel.
Again in verse 35, he pointed out Christ as the Messiah to the detriment to his own ministry!
Bethany, are you pointing people to the Savior?
People aren’t saved because they’ve been baptized.
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
People aren’t saved because they’ve joined the church.
People aren’t saved because they are raised in a believing home.
Paul dealt with these things with the Corinthian church.
4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!
2 Cor. 11:4-
Church, we need to be diligent to simply point people to Jesus and include repentance and faith just as our Lord did.
We also need to understand their response.
Understand Their Response (37)
Understand Their Response (37)
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
We’ll briefly look at both Biblical responses: Acceptance and a few Biblical markers, and rejection and a few Biblical markers.
#1. Acceptance:
“they followed Jesus”
This indicates that they took the Lord at His word and followed Him.
Now, before we get too eager, let’s remind ourselves that there are only 2 real responses here: acceptance and rejection.
In the category of acceptance, there are those who only confess with their mouths and those who confess with their mouths and actually receive Christ.
The difference is life or death, but often not seen simply because we aren’t God.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Those who accept Christ, not only come by repentance and faith, but will seek to grow in Christ. Friends, this is one reason I really have trouble with those who claim to have been saved 10, 20, 30, and 40 years ago but don’t exhibit any type of spiritual fruit.
Acceptance means we take up our cross and follow Him!
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Matt.
Instead of thinking the worst of people, be encouraged that right now the Lord is drawing people to Himself and you might have a part in that.
#2 Rejection
Not only will most people reject the Gospel, but we need to understand what rejection actually is: it is them rejecting the Gospel, not you.
We are only offering what we’ve been given-forgiveness from sin and death. They aren’t rejecting you, but the Gospel.
We point people to Christ, understand their response, and ask diagnostic questions.
Ask Diagnostic Questions (38)
Ask Diagnostic Questions (38)
38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
Jesus asked them, “what do you seek?”
AT Robertson translates this as “what purpose have you?”
Or as the NLT says, “what do you want?”
One of the problems with the “repeat after me” prayer for salvation is that it tends to produce a lot of false converts.
“I repeated after the preacher, so that makes everything okay!”
“What do you seek?”
“Why would you come to Christ?”
“What exactly is repentance and why do the gospels and Paul harp on it so much?”
“Do you understand what I just read to you from the Bible?”
“Do you have any questions about what it means to follow after Christ?”
“What do you mean when you say the Bible is full of errors? Can you show me?”
“What is your past experience with church?”
“Did your parents take you to church?”
“When I say the word ‘Gospel,’ could you tell me what that means according to the Bible?”
“Do you have any faith background?”
Questions allow the person to explain in their own words what they mean, what they are looking for, and how you might be able to correctly guide the conversation.
Jesus asked questions.
We point people to Jesus, understand their response, ask questions, and look for openness.
Look For Openness (38b)
Look For Openness (38b)
38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
“They said to Him, where are you staying?”
Some commentators say that in saying this, especially at the end of the day, they were implying that a hospitable person would invite them to spend the night.
Others have said that they simply wanted a quiet place to talk to Jesus.
Either way, they responded with openness.
When we are sharing the Gospel, take the time to listen for openness that allows you share more about the Lord.
Here are a few social and verbal cues people give:
They ask questions of you and your faith and aren’t simply chit chatting.
There’s no fierce offense when the gospel is presented-they understand they have sinned against God and are in need of a Savior.
Look for subtle cues, like head nods, good eye contact, and signs of conviction like tears or constant shifting in their body posture.
Friends, we need to not only expect people to be open, but we should consciously look for it as well.
So we point people to Jesus, we understand their response, ask questions, look for openness, and invite people to “Come and See”
Invite People to “Come and See” (39)
Invite People to “Come and See” (39)
Invite People to “Come and See” (39)
Invite People to “Come and See” (39)
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
When Jesus saw that they were open, He invited them to come and see where He was staying.
Friends, we’ve got to be bolder with our evangelizing and start calling people to “come and see.”
“Come and see” isn’t simply an invitation to Sunday services.
“Come and see” isn’t a gospel tract left on the table after a meal out.
“Come and see” isn’t a kind word spoken over a stranger.
All of these things are good and are ways to begin to introduce people to the Savior, but they don’t quite do it.
Inviting people to “come and see” takes the final step toward asking them if they need to repent and follow the Savior-with a few caveats.
The invitation to “come and see” shouldn’t be seen as another notch on our salvation belt.
“Come and see” shouldn’t stop there. There should be an explanation of what a disciple looks like and does. A call for holiness, an understanding of what it means to live in a covenant relationship with both the Lord and His church.
“Come and see” isn’t just a practice for the super spiritual like the pastor, a couple deacons, and some Sunday School teachers. Jesus said in
38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
What He’s saying here regarding taking up the cross is that if you aren’t willing to die to yourself-your wants and desires-your old self-your sin; that you are not worthy of Him.
He commands that we all do this.
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,